We compared the effects of specimen turbidity and glycerol concentration on nine enzymatic methods for triglyceride measurement. We assayed 51 specimens with triglyceride concentrations of 0.85-8.21 mmol/L and turbidity at 420 nm equivalent to >=0.1 mmol/L triglyceride. The effects of specimen turbidity and glycerol concentration were method-dependent and ranged from 6.2% to -15.67% of the measured result. The magnitude of the turbidity effect was similar to that for glycerol. A triglyceride assay with a bichromatic measurement was less subject to interference from turbidity. We compared five ion-selective electrodes and a calorimetric method for determination of lithium with flame atomic absorption and atomic emission spectroscopy. Imprecision was <5% for all analyzers except Ektachem and Beckman. Analytical recovery was within 5% of the target value for all analyzers except Ektachem and Baxter. Some drug interference was seen with all analyzers except AVL and Corning. The results with the Baxter, Beckman and Corning analyzers were closest to those by flame atomic emission.